Zimbabwe in India

So much for the tough talking from Zimbabwe skipper Stuart Carlisle.

When push came to shove in the first Test in Nagpur, the Southern Africans were utterly outclassed by an Indian side who were expected to be too good, and were.

Andy Flower's double failure hardly helped matters and if he fails again in the second and final Test starting on Thursday, Zimbabwe will do well to avoid another defeat.

Since scoring 42 in the first innings at Colombo just before the New Year, he has recorded scores of 10, 8, 11, 6, 3, 3, 8.

Nevertheless, Flower arrives in New Delhi still aware that he has prospered on these pitches before.

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England coach Duncan Fletcher insists his side are now narrowing the gap between themselves and the top two teams in the one-day game, South Africa and Australia.

The England team, completely restructured after losing 11 matches on the bounce, have since won 10 out of 16 matches since September.

They beat Zimbabwe 5-0, drew 3-3 with India and narrowly lost 3-2 in New Zealand earlier this week.

"For the first time since I've been involved with England we have worked as a unit," Fletcher said on Wednesday.

Banned players

India's national cricket board has ruled out reviewing bans imposed on on former captain Mohammad Azharuddin and all-rounder Ajay Jadeja over match fixing allegations.

After taking legal advice, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), confirmed Azharuddin's life ban and Jadeja's five-year suspension would continue to be enforced.

The sanctions were imposed in 2000 after the BCCI conducted an internal inquiry into a report on corruption in cricket by India's federal Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI).

Azharuddin and Jadeja have denied any wrongdoing and challenged their bans in court.

"We received what Jadeja had filed in court and sought legal advice on it," Jagmohan Dalmiya, president of the BCCI, told reporters after a working committee meeting.

Australia vs South Africa

Queensland all-rounder Andrew Symonds believes national selectors made players "jumpy" by repeatedly chopping and changing Australia's one-day side.

The dashing Bulls fieldsman said it was impossible for players to perform at their best while they were constantly "looking over their shoulders".

Asked his prospects of making the touring South Africa one day side a candid Symonds said "I'm not that interested ... whatever happens happens".

"If they pick me to go, I'm happy to go. But why worry about it now?"

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Former coach Bob Woolmer is disgusted at the defeatism within a South Africa cricket side who have all but given up hope of beating Australia.

Woolmer, whose innovative, upbeat guidance won South Africa a reputation for being a robust, tightly knit, well planned side in the late 1990s, is alarmed at how the current team have unravelled in their last four Test losses to Australia.

South Africa's innings and 360 run loss to Australia in the first Test - with the final dramatic day tagged Bloody Sunday by the South African media - prompted captain Mark Boucher to concede his side had been mentally dominated by a better team.

Miscellaneous

International cricket could come to the Moroccan city of Tangiers in August, with plans afoot for a one-day triangular series.

The Cricketers' Benefit Fund Series (CBFS), which organises the successful twice-yearly tournaments in Sharjah, is behind the planned tournament.

So far only Pakistan have confirmed their participation, although South Africa are understood to be holding negotiations with the organisers.

CBFS chief executive Zahid Noorani told BBC Sport Online that the tournament was provisionally scheduled for 12 - 21 August.

Temperatures at that time of year reach up to 38ºC (106ºF). Although it has never previously held an international match, a new ground 15 minutes' drive from the centre of the city boasts five pitches that have hosted inter-regional matches.

And Noorani is confident that they will gain the clearance required by the International Cricket Council (ICC) in time for the event.

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Bennett King has been appointed as Rodney Marsh's successor as head coach of the Australian Cricket Academy.

King, 37, joins the academy after a triumphant three-year spell as coach of the state side Queensland, where he replaced current national coach John Buchanan. He has led the side to two domestic first-class Pura Cup titles (1999/2000 and 2000/01) and to the top of the standings this year. Australian Cricket Board chief executive James Sutherland said in a statement that King was recommended for the job after a worldwide search by a four-man selection panel.

"Bennett has an excellent track record not only as a very good junior coach but also as a winning coach at senior level," Sutherland said.

World Cup 2007

The Caribbean may lose the 2007 World Cup if it does not improve current playing facilities and infrastructure, former president of the West Indies Cricket Board (WICB) Pat Rousseau has claimed.

Rousseau said that difficulties with travel and movement between islands in the region could cause problems.

And he claimed that the International Cricket Council (ICC) has the power to take the event away from the Caribbean if progress had not been made by 2005.

"West Indies has been given host status on the condition you prove your ability that you are ready on time for the event. I don't want us to lapse into complacency," Rousseau said.

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